Around the NFL: AFC East

[SmootSmack]

Patriots: 11-5: Losing the coordinators hurts, especially Weiss. But they're good enough to hold on to that division.

Jets: 10-6: They could give the Pats a legit scare. Curtis Martin is consistently one of the top backs in the league and he still gets hardly any love.

Bills: 7-9: They'll start off slow but once Losman gets more comfortable in that offense they'll pick it up. I expect them to be a trendy pick for 2006.

Dolphins 5-11: Amazing to think their top two QBs could be Gus and Sage.

[Paintrain]

Jets: 10-6. They have an awesome defense and with the addition of Heimerdinger as offensive coordinator and Pennington's shoulder remaining healthy all season, they should win this division.

Patriots: 9-7. Losing both your coordinators, your best defender, your #2 WR and depth in the secondary is too much to overcome for the two time defending champions.

Bills: 7-9. The learning curve for JP Losman will be steeper than most are expecting right now. McGahee and the defense will carry the team, but Losman isn't able to win games with his arm, yet.

Dolphins: 6-10. Bad offensive line, bad QBs, bad secondary means a bad record for Nick Saban's 1st season.

[Gmanc711]

#1: New England Patriots( 14-2, Super Bowl Champions Last year): I think the Patriots are going to decline a little bit this year. They have lost some key leaders in guys like Tedy Bruschi and David Patten. When I say decline, I don’t think they are going to be a bad team, they just wont be quite as dominant as they were last year. With that being said, this is still the class of the league. They do play a tough schedule, with some tough in division competition (NY and Buffalo), and they have to play the AFC West, which is never easy as every team in that division looks decent. Still, they should win the AFC East and go deep into the playoffs.

#2 New York Jets (10-6, Lost in AFC Divisional Playoffs last year): The Jets were a place kicker away from being in the AFC championship last season. I am not particularly a huge fan of what the Jets did in the off season. I think they got rid of too many guys, and didn’t add enough, but in their defense they didn’t have a choice with some of them either. The one thing they really lucked out on, was the wide receiver position. They traded Santana Moss for Laverneous Coles, after Coles wanted out of Washington. At their best, Coles is a better, more complete receiver. The Jets let go of Lamont Jordan, which is a move that I don’t really like in the long run. Curtis Martin led the league in rushing last year, but is still aging, and could decline at any time. Still, the with Buffalo having a rookie QB and the Dolphins being the Dolphins, the Jets shouldn’t have any problem finishing second and competing for a playoff spot.

#3 Buffalo Bills (9-7, Missed playoffs in 2004): I think letting go of Drew Bledsoe, not matter how he was playing, was a mistake for Buffalo. The team won 9 out of their last 12 games behind Bledsoe, and they were one game away from making the playoffs. With JP Losman being considered a long-term project when he was drafted, I just don’t understand where they came up with the plan to let him start this season. I think with Losman being essecially a rookie, they could struggle. The Bills had the #2 defense last year, and while their D is getting older, it should still be stellar again. The defense should keep them into games, and if JP Losman can come along quickly, they will be one of the most dangerous teams in the league. I just don’t think Losman is ready yet.

#4 Miami Dolphins (4-12 last year, Missed Playoffs in 2004): I wouldn’t sleep on the Dolphins this season. I don’t think they would be good enough to go anywhere, but this team will be competitive in games in 2004. They will have a rushing game once again with rookie first rounder Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams brining himself back into the lineup. Their defense was still pretty good last season, and they won 2 of their last three. I still think the team will finish in fourth, but even with how poorly they played last season, I think this team is on the rise.